Zella Jackson Price

Zella Jackson Price (born c. 1940) is an American gospel singer whose career has spanned 50 years. She performed with many St. Louis based entertainers and earned national recognition, performing in her own show at Carnegie Hall in 1985. She was one of the pioneer black announcers on St. Louis radio and was the feature of a documentary about her life created by Chicago TV channel 28. She sang in several movies, including Say Amen, Somebody (1982), a documentary about Ethel Waters' life, and the HBO mini-series Angels in America.

In 2015, Price made headlines when a daughter she had given birth to in 1965 and was told had died made contact with the family through social media. DNA evidence confirmed the relationship and an investigation into how the separation occurred is on-going.

Career

Price's music career began at age 6,[1] singing gospel music and playing piano accompaniment for her mother,[2] Alberta (née Waterford)[1] Cooper, who sang with the Waterford Sisters and Willie Mae Ford Smith. She graduated from Sumner High School of St. Louis in 1957 and began her own career.[2] By 1967, she had already made recordings and was touring Missouri singing gospel songs,[3] having recorded with artists such as Oliver Sain[4] Skeet Rogers, Denise Thimes and other artists.[5]

She was a pioneer of gospel radio, hosting a show on KIRL,[2] and along with other black announcers like Columbus Gregory, Wynetta Lindsey, Steve Love, Leonard Morris, Dean Strong and Ruby Summerville-Dickson "played a significant role in the development of St. Louis black radio."[6] She later starred in a television special on Chicago's TV channel 28, which documented her life and work.[1]

Price was a featured singer in the music documentary Say Amen, Somebody. The 1982 documentary also features The Barrett Sisters, Thomas A. Dorsey, Willie Mae Ford Smith, Sallie Martin and The O'Neal Twins.[7] Price sang an emotional rendition of her song 'I'm His Child' in the film, which later appeared on the 1990 soundtrack album for Glee.[8] Her performance was praised by Chicago Sun-Times, Cosmopolitan Magazine and Rolling Stone.[1] She was selected to play Ethel Waters in a film of Water's life and she sang "Happy I'm His Child", written by Malcolm Speed in the Academy Award nominated HBO mini-series Angels in America, which starred Al Pacino and Meryl Streep.[1]

One of the crowning moments of Price's life was when she performed in 1985 at Carnegie Hall in New York City, with her long-time accompanist Michael Johnson.[2] Another, was a 2009 performance for Black History Month at Powell Hall with the Saint Louis Symphony to honor blues legend Mae Wheeler.[5]

Personal life

In April 2015, Price met her daughter, Melanie Diane Gilmore, for the first time, in the presence of mainstream news broadcasters.[9] In 1965, Price was told her daughter had died within 3 hours of birth.[10] Her version of 'I'm His Child' in 1982 takes on a deeper meaning in the context of the death of her newborn baby.[11]

Gilmore made contact with Price after searching for her biological grandparents online.[12] DNA results have confirmed the relationship between Price and her daughter.[13]

Discography

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 NAACP (June 12, 2009). "100 Most Inspiring St. Louisans". St. Louis Today. St. Louis, Missouri: St. Louis Today. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 King, Chris (December 24, 2008). "Celebration for Zella Jackson Price Sunday at Mt. Zion". St. Louis American. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  3. ↑ "Zella Jackson". Mexico, Missouri: Mexico Ledger. 6 April 1967. p. 3. Retrieved 4 August 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ "Oliver Sain". St. Louis, Missouri: STL Blues Net. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  5. 1 2 King, Chris (20 Feb 2009). "Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra: Lady Gets Her Dues". Playbill. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  6. ↑ Hayes, Bernie. "Early Voices and Faces of Local Black Radio". STL Media History. St. Louis, Missouri: St. Louis Media History Foundation. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  7. ↑ Ebert, Roger (2012). 33 Movies to Restore Your Faith in Humanity: Ebert's Essentials. Andrews McMeel Publishing. pp. 91–2. ISBN 978-1-449-42225-7.
  8. ↑ "I'm His Child – Zella Jackson Price". AllMusic. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  9. ↑ Silverstein, Jason (11 April 2015). "Family united for first time after hospital mishap kept mother and daughter apart for decades". New York Daily News. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  10. ↑ "Mom meets daughter she thought died – 49 years later". USA Today. 11 April 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  11. ↑ "Missouri mother, 76, meets daughter she thought had died in childbirth". Mass Live. 14 April 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  12. ↑ "Missouri Mom, 76, Meets 49-Year-Old Daughter for First Time". NBC News. 13 April 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  13. ↑ Cambria, Nancy (May 27, 2015). "Adoption records blocked for now as family seeks answers to Homer G. Phillips mystery". St. Louis, Missouri: St. Louis Post Dispatch. Retrieved 4 August 2015.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, August 19, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.